It is well known to use ultraviolet (UV) lamps to cure certain curable compounds such as adhesives and the like. UV spot curing systems are used in various applications including the curing of industrial sealants for potting electronics, bonding plastics in the medical industry and the curing of dental filling materials, disk industry amongst other applications.
Commercially available UV spot curing assemblies typically include a UV light or visible source, a reflector by which reflected light from the light source is focused on a target location of an object. Currently, spot curing systems use an internal timing device to control the exposure time of the light on the object.
One known light curing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,729. The light cure system described therein includes a light source, a light guide for delivering the light produced by the source to a work site, a dimmer for controlling the intensity of light delivered to the work site, and a shutter for controlling the exposure time for the work site. The system also includes a controller for controlling both the dimmer and the shutter by adjusting the exposure time and/or intensity level so that a predetermined quantity of light energy is delivered to the work site.
As it is apparent, the UV light curing system shown in the '729 patent utilizes an internal timer, which is commercially available, to control the shutter actuation. A trip signal is usually a ground connection that is made by use of an external footswitch. To interface with an external processor a relay must be used to complete the trip circuit. In the electromechanical relay, it is advantageous to eliminate oxidation and/or wear of the contacts in order to avoid either partial or total loss of current. Also, a timer must be pre-set independent of the main processing unit. This arrangement is costly due to the additional cost associated with a timer integrated to the curing unit and makes it less flexible to be interfaced with an external system or processor.
It is therefore desirable to provide a UV curing lamp assembly wherein the assembly may be more economically and easily manufactured, and further, allowing the operation of the assembly unit to be externally controlled and its function is fully integrated with other operational components of the complete automated system.